A Brief History of Binder Clips

Let's marvel for a bit at the design mastery behind the binder clip. It's made of one solid but flexible piece of steel and two hinged wires. When folded back, the binder clip's metal hooks provide the leverage necessary to open the powerful spring-loaded clasp. After you've bound your papers (or whatever you've fit into the mouth of the binder clip), the metal arms fold forward, flush against the bound object. Or you can remove them altogether.

Unlike its older and significantly more simplistic cousin, the paperclip, the binder clip binds significantly larger stacks of paper together with ease; unlike staples, hole-punches, or thread, the binder clip is a completely non-destructive method of binding and organizing paper with a vice-like grip. (You can even completely remove the wires if you prefer to keep the clip fastened and want to lose the cruft.)

Per Wikipedia, the binder clip has undergone next to no significant design improvements or changes since it was invented nearly 100 years ago. You can find the indispensable gadgets in a variety of sizes, from the tiny roach-clip style to clamps the size of your hand (but with a significantly stronger grip).

In the UK, it's called a bulldog clip. Yeah. Update: Reader Mark clarifies that the Bulldog clip is actually just a brand, like saying Kleenex instead of tissue.

Beyond Paper

So yeah, binder clips hold paper together. That's not terribly sexy, and even the fact that it's stood the test of time and remains one of the most reliable and ubiquitous office supplies doesn't really change that. But the binder clip transcends the yawn-factor of office knighthood through the many brilliant and clever ways they've been put to use outside the piles of workspace papers. Let's look at a few of our favorites: